The NFL Network could hurt the competition Thursday night. The New Orleans Saints play the Atlanta Falcons at 8, a game with the potential to be good. But there are many options beyond football as new episodes fill the schedule. Of special note: 1. Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) weds on "30 Rock" at 8 on NBC. She is marrying Criss Chross (James Marsden). Doesn't she deserve some happiness before the show ends next year? 2. "The X Factor" offers its results show at 8 on Fox. But there are other reasons to tune in, notably performances by Alicia Keys and Josh Krajcik, a runner-up from the first season of the singing contest.

The NFL Network could hurt the competition Thursday night. The New Orleans Saints play the Atlanta Falcons at 8, a game with the potential to be good. But there are many options beyond football as new episodes fill the schedule. Of special note: 1. Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) weds on "30 Rock" at 8 on NBC. She is marrying Criss Chross (James Marsden). Doesn't she deserve some happiness before the show ends next year? 2. "The X Factor" offers its results show at 8 on Fox. But there are other reasons to tune in, notably performances by Alicia Keys and Josh Krajcik, a runner-up from the first season of the singing contest.

If you're looking for something fresh, something original, or something you just can't help but get your grove on to, look no further. Alicia Keys has the beauty of Mariah Carey, the funk of Macy Gray and the edge Christina Aguilera never really had. Plus, she is an incredible vocalist. And while there may be some parallels of fashion and diva sense between Keys and Aguilera, Keys' potential in this business is far from any one-shot, pop-wannabe out there now. This newly minted musician also is dish- ing out a style of melodies that's quickly catching on. Her album is almost entirely self-composed, with the exception of two songs by Prince and Brian McKnight.

Alicia Keys debuted her new song "Girl on Fire" during the 2012 MTV VMAs. Featuring a guest rap from Nicki Minaj , the lyrics "this girl is on fire" seemed like they were tailor-made for Katniss Everdeen in "The Hunger Games. " But when Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas appeared onstage and began to show off some of her gold medal-winning skills, it became clear who the song was really about. PHOTOS: 2012 MTV VMAs best and worst Minaj's guest verse clued us in. "And I got 'em aggy because I win the gold like Gabby," Minaj rapped as Douglas cartwheeled and twirled across the stage.

Alicia Keys debuted her new song "Girl on Fire" during the 2012 MTV VMAs. Featuring a guest rap from Nicki Minaj , the lyrics "this girl is on fire" seemed like they were tailor-made for Katniss Everdeen in "The Hunger Games. " But when Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas appeared onstage and began to show off some of her gold medal-winning skills, it became clear who the song was really about. PHOTOS: 2012 MTV VMAs best and worst Minaj's guest verse clued us in. "And I got 'em aggy because I win the gold like Gabby," Minaj rapped as Douglas cartwheeled and twirled across the stage.

Alicia Keys is offering fans plenty of options with her latest single, "Girl on Fire," by simultaneously releasing three versions of the song. Her "choose your favorite version" approach for the single -- the title track to her forthcoming album, due out Nov. 27 -- comes in the form of the original and a two-part suite: an "Inferno" remix featuring Nicki Minaj and a stripped-down "Blue Light" version. Keys' strength has largely been her ballads, especially the sweeping, dramatic numbers where she gives her powerful vocals the space to run amok over anthemic hooks.

1. She was born in New York as Alicia Augello Cook to Terri Augello, an Italian-Irish paralegal and part-time actress, and Craig Cook, an African-American flight attendant. They split when she was 2. Her mother raised her in New York's Hell's Kitchen. 2. She was singing Broadway standards by 4, won an audition to play Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz at 6 and began studying piano at 7. At 9, she was playing Chopin and Mozart sonatas. At 12, she attended New York's Professional Performing Arts School, portrayed in the film and TV series Fame.

I was not an Alicia Keys fan when I bought this album. Sure, I had heard a song or two on the radio, but words like "generic" and "Vanessa Carlton-esque" often accompanied them. I don't like to admit my mistakes, but I'm happy to say I was wrong. The Diary of Alicia Keys is the promising follow-up to Keys' debut Songs in A Minor, which came out in July 2001. The list of Keys' credits in the making of this album is probably longer than most Britney miniskirts: writer, pianist, major vocals, producer, background vocals, among them.

The No. 1 song 70 years ago: "You Are My Lucky Star. The No. 1 song 60 years ago: "It's Been a Long, Long Time. The No. 1 song 50 years ago: "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing" by the Four Aces. The No. 1 song 40 years ago: "Get Off My Cloud" by the Rolling Stones. The No. 1 song 30 years ago: "Island Girl" by Elton John. The No. 1 song 20 years ago: "We Built This City" by Starship. The No. 1 song 10 years ago: "Fantasy" by Mariah Carey. The No. 1 song a year ago: "My Boo" by Alicia Keys and Usher.

Cancer has touched all of us in some way -- one in two men and one in three women in the U.S. are expected to be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes, and almost 8 million people worldwide die from cancer each year. That's why stars are donating their time to raise money to fight the disease in the "Stand Up To Cancer" special. Gwyneth Paltrow, Julia Roberts and Matt Damon are just some of the stars scheduled to appear. Coldplay, Taylor Swift, Alicia Keys and Tim McGraw are slated to perform.

A Green Day member sporting a "Free Pussy Riot" T-shirt was about as political as the 2012 MTV VMAs were able to get. The band unveiled yet another new song, "Let Yourself Go," and the song, again, saw the band moving away from the political and social overtunes of "American Idiot" and "21st Century Breakdown. " Green Day, in fact, has been doing everything in its power to state that it should not be considered an important band. As evidence, the band has its own "Angry Birds" characters.

Alicia Keys is offering fans plenty of options with her latest single, "Girl on Fire," by simultaneously releasing three versions of the song. Her "choose your favorite version" approach for the single -- the title track to her forthcoming album, due out Nov. 27 -- comes in the form of the original and a two-part suite: an "Inferno" remix featuring Nicki Minaj and a stripped-down "Blue Light" version. Keys' strength has largely been her ballads, especially the sweeping, dramatic numbers where she gives her powerful vocals the space to run amok over anthemic hooks.

On her fourth studio album, "The Element of Freedom" (RCA), Alicia Keys revisits "Empire State of Mind," the hit single on which she collaborated with Jay-Z earlier this year. On Keys' remake, the singer retains the soaring vocal hook that helpedmake the song one of the year's most indelible anthems, a celebration of New York City and its multitude of contradictions and possibilities. But without Jay-Z, the track loses its swagger. Whereas Jay-Z owns the song (and quite possibly New York)

Who were the big music winners of the year? Chris Brown and Alicia Keys. Although Brown didn't have the No. 1 song of the year, he placed three singles in the Billboard Top 10 and was named the magazine's top pop artist of the year. Keys boasted the No. 2 pop song, the No. 1 album, and the Nos. 1 and 8 R&B songs. Top singles 1. Low...Flo Rida feat. T-Pain 2. Bleeding Love...Leona Lewis 3. No One...Alicia Keys 4. Lollipop...Lil Wayne feat. Static Major 5. Apologize...Timbaland feat.

When the young Bob Dylan arrived in New York in 1961, he was imitating old troubadours such as Woody Guthrie or John Lee Hooker, pretending with an intensity that evolved into his own fictional mythology. With Modern Times, in stores today, Dylan affirms that he has become precisely the character he aspired to be since his earliest acoustic folk albums. There's nothing that revolutionary about these 10 songs -- a mix of blues, Tin Pan Alley ditties and country-tinged ballads -- except the singer's strange, utterly magnetic presence.